Scotland Yard has launched an investigation into the cash-for-honors scandal plaguing Prince Charles’ charity The Prince’s Foundation, reports The Mirror.
The probe comes after the Foundation’s former chief executive Michael Fawcett stepped down last year amid accusations of promising to secure a knighthood and British citizenship for a Saudi donor. A spokesman for Charles insists he knew nothing about Fawcett’s alleged actions.
“The Metropolitan Police Service has launched an investigation into allegations of offences under the Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925,” a statement read. “The decision follows an assessment of a September 2021 letter. This related to media reporting alleging offers of help were made to secure honours and citizenship for a Saudi national.”
So far, no arrests have been made, police added, and The Prince’s Foundation is cooperating with police.
“The Special Enquiry Team has conducted the assessment process, which has included contacting those believed to hold relevant information,” the statement continued. “Officers liaised with The Prince’s Foundation about the findings of an independent investigation into fundraising practices. The Foundation provided a number of relevant documents. These documents were reviewed alongside existing information. The assessment determined an investigation will commence.”
Allegations against Charles’ foundation were first leveled last September, both in The Sunday Times and The Mail on Sunday. By November, Fawcett had resigned from his post.
Stay In The Know
Marie Claire email subscribers get intel on fashion and beauty trends, hot-off-the-press celebrity news, and more. Sign up here.
After the announcement of the police probe, Charles’ office reiterated his previous assertions that he knew nothing of a cash-for-honors exchange, saying “The Prince of Wales had no knowledge of the alleged offer of honours or British citizenship on the basis of donation to his charities.”
This investigation comes the same week that Charles tested positive for COVID-19 for the second time, after a bout with it in March 2020.
Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.
-
Olivia Rodrigo Finds the Perfect Spring Dresses at Reformation
She's worn the brand twice in the past week.
By Julia Marzovilla Published
-
Curiously, Just as Meghan Markle Sends Samples of Her New Strawberry Jam Out, the Buckingham Palace Shop Starts Promoting Its Own Strawberry Jam on Social Media
The clip promoting the Buckingham Palace Shop’s product—we cannot make this up—is set to Mozart’s “Dissonance Quartet.”
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Zendaya's Latest 'Challengers' Serve Is Nearly a Century Old
The 1930s-era dress may have been pulled months ago.
By Halie LeSavage Published
-
Princess Diana Revealed to a Royal Author the Real Reason Why Her Marriage to Prince Charles Ended Not Long Before She Died in 1997
And no, it apparently wasn’t Camilla Parker-Bowles.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Princess Diana Told Queen Elizabeth Through Tears That Her Then-Husband Prince Charles Was “A Nightmare” and That She “Hated” Him, Royal Author Claims
Ingrid Seward’s new book examines the relationship between mother and son, Her late Majesty and her heir, Charles.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Kate Middleton Gave an Honest, Eight-Word Assessment About the First Time She Met King Charles
The King and the Princess of Wales—famously close to one another—are both currently hospitalized at The London Clinic.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Princess Diana Made a Sandringham Christmas Gaffe Because She and Prince Charles Didn't "Communicate Very Well," Commentator Says
Not great.
By Iris Goldsztajn Published
-
How Did Queen Elizabeth Really Feel About Then-Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles’ Polarizing 2005 Wedding?
This week’s final installment of ‘The Crown’ will cover the wedding as the series wraps up for good.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Queen Elizabeth and (Then) Prince Charles’ Relationship Suffered Because of His Relationship with Camilla Parker-Bowles, Andrew Morton Says
“He could love her, but he needed to leave her,” the Firm (and Her late Majesty) said at the time.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
King Charles Is Considering a Second Jonathan Dimbleby Interview Pre-Coronation—Where He Could Talk About Prince Harry
This chat, to be taped nearly 30 years after the first bombshell interview, might see the King finally break his silence on his younger son’s claims.
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Prince Harry "Should Have Been Prince William's Wingman," Has Become His "Hitman" Instead, Royal Expert Says
That doesn't sound good.
By Iris Goldsztajn Published